Veterans Today: Clinician's Trauma Update!

For complete summaries, see this month's CTU-Online PDF. This issue of CTU-Online contains 10 summaries: Evidence reviews of PTSD prevention and treatment: The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality recently released two research syntheses of interventions for PTSD in adults, with one focused on approaches for prevention and the other on treatment. Special journal issue on returning Veterans: A recent issue of Psychological Services focuses on challenges faced by Veterans who served in OEF/OIF/OND and interventions that may help. Read more: Treatment. Cognitive Processing Therapy is feasible even in low resource environments. Considerable evidence exists showing that CPT is effective in specialized PTSD programs and research studies. A question for all manualized treatments is how well they can be used in settings with fewer resources, ranging from clinical practice in the community to environments with few advanced mental health care practitioners. A recent study indicates the CPT can be delivered successfully in settings that have limited mental health resources and by clinicians who do not have advanced training. A new take on skills training before CBT for PTSD. A 2010 study found that Skills Training in Affect and Interpersonal Regulation (STAIR), relative to supporting counseling, before exposure therapy led to better retention and outcomes. Recently, Australian researchers reported an RCT of another phased approach for PTSD, but important questions about augmenting PTSD treatment with preparatory training remain. Patterns of sudden gains in Prolonged Exposure and sertraline treatment. Large, rapid improvements in symptoms during treatment, termed sudden gains, are linked to better outcomes. Now, the first study to compare sudden gains from Prolonged Exposure and sertraline for PTSD examined not only if both treatments yield gains but when. Reduced suicidal ideation following trauma focused treatment. VA has increased efforts at suicide prevention as part of continuing efforts to enhance mental health care for Veterans. A study by researchers from the National Center for PTSD suggests that PTDS treatment itself may help address suicidal ideation. Mindfulness based treatment for combat related PTSD. Mindfulness based cognitive therapy has been shown to reduce depression episodes but has not been studied as a PTSD treatment, until recently. Investigators from the Ann Arbor VA Medical Center evaluated MBCT adapted for PTSD among Veterans with combat related trauma. Another look at eye movements in EMDR: Research findings are mixed on whether the eye movements in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing are necessary for patient improvement.